All Hail Starscream
by dreamerchaos
Summary: Starscream returns to Cybertron, dealing with the small group of Decepticons who threatened to overthrow the Seeker upon his return. Soon the immediate threat is over, Starscream, is the undesputed Lord of the Decepticons. StarscreamxPerceptor. STICKY.
1. Chapter 1

_**Title: All Hail Starscream (1/2)**_  
Title: All Hail Starscream (1/2)

Author: dreamerchaos

Fandom: IDW's comic-based Official Movie Sequel 'The Reign of Starscream'.

Rating: R. Warning. Dubious consent and gore thrown into several parts.

Pairing: StarscreamxPerceptor.

Disclaimer: All recognizable characters are owned by Hasbro.

Characters: Perceptor. Starscream. Various characters from the comic as well.

Summary: Starscream has returned to Cybertron, dealing with the small group of Decepticons who had threatened to overthrow the Seeker upon his return. Now that the immediate threat is over, Starscream, as the current Lord of the Decepticons, must deal with the small refugee groups and neutrals who continue to evade the grasp of him and his soldiers.

Author Note: Main character focus is on the scientist and microscope, Perceptor. And since I have not seen a visual rendition of Perceptor in any IDW comics based on the Transformers movie, I am going to assume that Perceptor will remain in appearances fairly similar to his G1 form. In the general color scheme and overall schematics, but like all other movie-based characters from Transformers, all the bits and bobs will be a complex mixture of metal and interwoven pieces. In the case of this fic, and any fiction that I write featuring Perceptor in the movie related universe, I am going to pretend that he is around the same size as Jazz.

Time Units, following nova_myth's references from recent drabbles:

Kilk- 1.2 minutes  
Breem- 8 min  
Joor- 1 hour  
Orn- 1 day  
Meta-cycle- 13 months-1 year- 400 orns  
Vorn- 83 years

Perceptor knew that he was shivering ever so slightly. His adrenal circuits were firing wildly, causing the microscope's hands to tremble and his knees to quake as he walked alongside his fellow Cybertronian.

"Calm yourself." Hardline hissed, bumping his shoulder against the slighter mech to draw his attention. He kept his black helm lowered, not daring to lift his optics and possibly draw the attention of the surrounding and flanking Decepticons, drones, and slaves walking unhurried up and down the streets of Trypticon. "You have to remain calm and collected. If any of these soldiers are running random scans and your behavior catches their attention, you **know** what they will discover with their scans, and you **know** what will happen!"

"Y-Yes." Perceptor shuddered at the thought, forcibly collecting his composure, drawing in air through his overworked vents with a deep gust of breath, the rattling of his chassis becoming a steady hum to focus upon.

Hardline and Perceptor were risking a great deal by daring to venture into the Decepticon occupied city. But their choices were little to none if they wanted to scrape together enough energon to supply their small group of refugees hunkered down outside the city, hoping to avoid the constant sweeps from the aerial drones.

As refugees, and wishing to side with neither the Decepticons nor the Autobots, Perceptor and his companions were considered prominent targets for the Decepticons. Once captured by those feared troops, imprisoned refugees were electronically tagged as a form of identification. Then placed on the open market for sale. Treated as obtainable, highly desirable property, immediately available for sale or offered to the highest bidder…Or to the biggest and meanest soldier.

Worse still, unlike the older caste of slaves, who were registered to their owners, refugees originally went unregistered, and when any happened to end up scanned by the specialized drones, they were electronically tagged and marked for retrieval, the signal firing to any nearby squadron of Decepticon soldiers. By Lord Starscream's command, were to be retrieved and contained **immediately**.

"Now come on." The black masked mech urged Perceptor to hurry and follow, insisting that the scientist remain close so that they would not accidentally be separated. "It's only a little further, and then we can use some credits to buy the energon and take it back to camp."

A short distance behind them, there was an outburst of frantic shouts and mechs struggling against another. Hardline stretched his hand back to snag Perceptor's tugging at him to hurry and to not look back.

"Unregistered Mech." A drone barked from the direction the two refugees were quickly striding away. "You Are To Be Held And Contained For Questioning."

"No! Let me go!" The screams escalated, drawing a pair of Decepticon soldiers to shove past Hardline and Perceptor, moving to intercept and contain the resisting prisoner.

Perceptor dared a look back, sadly noting the slender ground based mech struggling with his wrists caught in the drone's grip, kicking and striking feebly at the much larger entity. The pale blue painted prisoner twisted his frame away from the two soldiers, failing as their hands fell down to grasp his shoulders and halt his struggle.

Hardline's harsh jerk tore Perceptor's optics away when the soldiers yanked the mech's wrists behind his back, snapping on the stasis cuffs, stifling the prisoner's sharp cries with a large hand over his mouth. "Come on!" Hardline hurried.

Perceptor practically melds his frame against the Hardline's back strut, following closely, optics averted from any and all other passersby.

Hardline led them down several twisted streets before halting in front of a store front, keeping his frame in front of the microscope as he greeted the mech waiting for them. "Greetings, Swindle." The refugee nodded his head in deference to the strange mech.

The stranger…Swindle…smiled coyly, claws drumming atop his folded arms, the gesture and chilly grin drawing a cold shiver from Perceptor. Immediately he felt uncomfortable, feeling anxious and nervous with an individual he had only just encountered.

"_Ahhh_…Hardline." Swindle's lavender optics narrowed, black helm bowing as he purred in greeting. The gold and bronze paint of his metal skin gleaming in the bright rays of Cybertron's nearest sun. His gaze ran up and down the scuffed and dirty frames of the two refugees, noting the poor quality of their paintwork in distaste. "I was becoming worried that you wouldn't arrive."

"I was slightly delayed." Hardline assured, waving his hand as if to dispel the unsettled ambiance between them.

"Hmmm? And who is this?" Swindle asked, leaning over to the side and peering over the ridge of Hardline's shoulder. The purple gaze settling on the smaller mech hiding behind his customer, noting the teasing glimpse of red and cobalt paint and scope upon the mech's shoulder. "You brought a friend."

"Yes." Hardline laid a hand atop of Perceptor's, the one digging into the seam of his hip. He detected the steady tremble, and from previous excursions and experience working alongside the smaller mech, Hardline trusted that the microscope's agitated state was for good reason.

Swindle smiled benignly, spreading his arms in greeting. "How wonderful!" The mech chuckled. "The more, the merrier."

Even Hardline could not fail to note the menacing calm that followed such a statement. He was thankful for the black faceplate that concealed his worry, allowing him to focus his efforts on subspacing the handful of credits from a small chamber in his right thigh sheath. He quickly held out the credits towards Swindle, eager to commence and close the transaction between them. "I believe this is the required payment for our purchase." Hardline offered the credits.

"I see, I see." Swindle sounded pleased, hand outstretched to take the credits.

Perceptor sensed the slight lessening of tension in Hardline's frame, the mech relaxing, certain that they would soon be done and away with the precious energon.

Swindle's smile widened, his optics as cold as a glacier. "Although…" He slid the word along his glossa, leaning closer, laying his hand on top of Hardline's outstretched and open palm.

Hardline's optics blinked, unconsciously tilting his head back from the invasion of personal space.

Striking like a mecha-serpent, Swindle's taloned hand encircled Hardline's wrist, cuffing and refusing to budge as he held the stunned mech prisoner.

"I'm afraid that there has been a change in plans." Swindle said with a benevolent smile, optics flickering to focus behind his customers.

Hardline turned as far as he is allowed by the stubborn grip, blue optics flaring wide as he felt the abrupt beginning of invasive scans running up and down his and Perceptor's forms.

Hardline was face to face with a small alpha drone unit, the three drones easily standing over two heads above the two refugees.

"I believe I have covered my end of the deal." Swindle greeted the small squad, their singular optics focused upon their prey.

Perceptor, abruptly pushed backwards by a rough shove of Hardline's shoulder, stumbles as he is again shoved towards the side, Hardline using his only free hand to tear the microscope away from him. **"RUN!"** Hardline shouted in desperation, barely visible through the thin seams of the much larger frames as the drones surrounded him, hands grappling at the struggling mech.

Perceptor lost his footing at the sudden assault, but quickly rose up, vents gasping, shock and terror racing through his energon cables. The microscope laid his optics upon the area where Hardline valiantly fought before finally heeding the mech's frantic command.

He evaded a hazardous lunge from Swindle, the mech attempting to capture another victim, but the microscope's arm slipped free. "He's getting away!" The mech shouted, pointing an accusing finger at Perceptor's back as the mech ran for his Spark.

"Out of my way! _GET OUT OF MY WAY!_" Stockade thrust the slaves and other pedestrians out of the way with a well-aimed fist, snarling at those too slow to get out of his path. The Decepticon's visor never left the fleeing refugee's back, and he was followed closely by a designated squad of drones.

The pedestrians froze, startled by the sudden violence of the small squad tearing through the crowd. Slaves and workers moved as quickly as possible to clear a path for the larger mechs.

"Unregistered mech!" Stockade roared. And soon following the Decepticon's loud bellow, the crowd parted like the Red Sea, lurching left and right, away from the fleeing escapee as if he carried a deadly virus within his systems.

"This one won't escape." Stockade swore with dark promise. "Not on _my_ watch."

Perceptor used his slighter frame to squeeze through the meandering pedestrians, ducking and weaving to slip further away from the Decepticon squad.

But the Decepticons were beginning to gain control and direction over the crowd, and the crowd began to part, allowing the squad a clearer path.

_'No…'_ Perceptor allowed his momentum to swing him around a sharp corner, zigzagging past clusters of startled pedestrians, racing to reach the city limit and the haven of the maze caverns of the underground tunnels and bunkers.

There was a shift…in the air current just above him…

He instinctively ducked-

And then Perceptor stumbled, and he and the other pedestrians covered their audios in agony as a sonic blast ripped through the street, a cobalt Seeker tearing through the sky above them, sailing tightly over Perceptor, close enough for the microscope to leap up and touch the underside of mech's cockpit.

Twisting and transforming in midair, the Seeker fell to rest upon his knees in his bipedal form, a snarl grooved upon his face as red optics focused upon the running refugee.

Audio receptors still ringing from the blast, Perceptor couldn't decipher the Seeker's shouted command. He turned tail and began to run once more, unable to ignore the loud foot falls as the Seeker's pedes severely decreased the distance spread between he and the fleeing mech. Seekers ruled the sky, but Perceptor also knew that they were almost equally dangerous on the ground as well.

A shadow cut ahead of him, severing the width of the street as another Seeker flew ahead, cutting off the microscope's path of escape.

The Seeker transformed, landing in a crouch, already in bipedal mode, too close and too fast to safely avoid.

_'Oh no. Not him. Any Seeker but this one-'_

Out of all the Decepticon Seekers, Starscream was the most frightening. Even before the mech and his Decepticon unit had taken to the stars and towards the organic planet, the mech's body had wielded gold and silver plating, fuselages adorned in gold atop his shoulders arching upwards, proud spikes marking the Seeker's status as a conqueror of the heavens. Helm crested in gold, teeth aligned in the silver to brighten his sharp grin. But after returning from the planet Earth, revealing to all Cybertronians the extent of his adaptation to the strange planet, Starscream's current form was far more hideous and terrifying. Gun metal and silver, wings and claws eloquently sharpened as if they would further cut through the sky as the Seeker tore across the surface of the planet.

Perceptor literally stumbled into his claws, and immediately lifted off his pedes, kicking and struggling helplessly, jerking and trying to twist at the fingers clasped upon his shoulder and upper torso.

"Let me go!!" Perceptor twist and writhed, no better than an aquatic animal clenched in the fist of an avian predator.

The cobalt Seeker snorted in contempt, stepping closer to his counterpart, peering at the smaller struggling mech with disdain but a slight measure of curiosity. "Is this the one that has caused such a ruckus, my Lord?" He deferred to the Seeker holding Perceptor captive.

Perceptor's captor released a gust of disappointment, but whether as a result of the short chase - or the amount of time it was taking for the Decepticon squad that had been chasing Perceptor to finally join the two standing Seekers - the microscope wasn't certain.

"Lord Starscream." The leader of the squad bowed low, fist resting over his Spark chamber. "My Lord, I was not aware that you were visiting our humble sector of the city-"

"Spare me your insipid groveling, Stockade." Starscream growled in warning. "Your kowtowing would be amusing in any other situation. Yet I find little amusement or reason for why it takes more than one of my soldiers to apprehend a single refugee."

"And a small one, at that." Thundercracker muttered sullenly.

Perceptor wheezed past the cage of fingers holding him tight. "If…If I'm such an inconvenience, my Lord, then I'll gladly walk away and remove myself from your presence." The microscope now hung limp, fingers remaining threaded over the Seeker's, faintly hoping to discern any degree and lessening in pressure or grip.

To his surprise, the beseeching inquiry met with amused laughter, the Seeker Lord chuckling at the stunned microscope's audacity. "Now, **you** are far more amusing." Starscream approved, raising the mech to optic level.

_'Terrific. Amuse and draw further attention to yourself. Brilliant move on my part.'_ Perceptor bemoaned. "Then how about quiet…I could be quiet…oh, silence your output, Perceptor, you're not being quiet right now…" The microscope whimpered in self-flagellation, optics shutting down as he cringed away from the Seeker's gaze, hissing with dread within the embrace of the infamous Seeker and Lord of the Decepticons. He has heard plenty of the rumors about Starscream's temper and cruelty when the mech's ire was tested.

Starscream's chassis rattled with sibilant amusement, optics flashing like red magma.

Stockade dared to inch closer, beseeching his Lord's attention. "Lord Starscream. Allow me to remove this mech from your presence. He is an unregistered refugee, and thus must be tagged and made ready for any suitable buyers."

"I am aware of what is to be done with unregistered mechs, you fool." Starscream growled, ruby gaze boring into the smaller Decepticon's. Thundercracker echoed his superior's snarl, leaning over to further intimidate the soldier. "I was the one who signed the edict for their retrieval and containment!"

"B..but, my Lord. We captured another one who was with him. They may be members of a small party of refugees hiding outside the city limits. If we were allowed to question him-"

Thundercracker sneered. "Your methods of interrogation usually end up with prisoners being too damaged physically and psychologically. Thus we end up losing precious slaves in order to satiate your thirst for violence and torture."

"But…my Lord!" Stockade began to whine.

"Enough!" Starscream barked, snapping sharp denta. Stockade reared backwards. "Thundercracker will be in charge of the interrogation of both refugees." The subordinate Seeker bowed his helm in agreement. "Escort Thundercracker to the other prisoner."

"And this one, my Lord?" Thundercracker bobbed his chin in Perceptor's direction, arrogantly shoving Stockade forward in silent instruction to follow Starscream's command.

Starscream's gaze flicked back to the mech held tight within his grasp. Perceptor gasped in discomfort as the grip tightened ever so slightly, as if the Seeker detected the microscope's patient silence waiting for a small sliver of opening to allow for his escape. "I will attend to this one." The Decepticon Lord informed his fellow Seeker.

Perceptor coughed as he was once again shoved under the torrential spray of the shifted shower heads, while hip deep in the rushing water. Held down firmly by the pair of servant drones and forced to sit on a submerged seat in the sunken personal bathing section of the washrack chamber, while the drones insisted upon trying to scrape the grit and scuffs off his frame.

Moreover, from the feel of it, trying to peel away all of the paint off from his person.

A drone moved the shower head, adjusting to allow the water to pour over his helm and down his neck. Thick streams of brackish water poured from between the microscope's seams, indicated the state of his previous living conditions.

An arm was tugged forward to stretch flat upon the other drone's lap, the servant vigorously scrubbing at the scuffed body work with an oversized sponge soaked with large suds of cleaning fluid.

Starscream remained standing at the chamber's entrance, frowning in disapproval at the quality of the water of the baths, the brackish surface doing nothing to hide the mess that had covered the smaller mech. "Do you roll around among the dirt and decay everyday, little mech, or is today an special occasion?"

The bath water sloshed upon the metal tiled floor as the microscope struggled in an attempt to break free of the drones yet again, but was quickly dragged back into their tender mercies. The servants beeping in disapproval, single optics narrowed as they persisted in the cleaning of their ward. "We don't have the luxury of washracks readily available for personal use, my Lord!" Perceptor bit out after hacking up water once he resurfaced after being shoved bodily under the water in an attempt to further remove the dirt from his person.

"Ah, yes." Starscream purred in thought. "Lest we forget about your little…friends…who are still in hiding?"

Perceptor hushed, shoulders slumped, refusing to say anything else and risk exposing further information about his fellow refugees in hiding.

"Hmmm." Starscream smiled, idly running a talon along the seam of his chin. Watching while Perceptor was coaxed from the bath and pushed into an adjoining chamber in order to stand underneath the lamps and warm air vents to dry off his wet plating. "No access to washracks means that they are not near any of the main pipes. They would not be deep enough underground to have access to the underwater springs, either. So that means…" Starscream paused to wait until Perceptor entered the main chamber again. "Your friends are hiding in the tunnels near the main corridors and bunkers but not too far underground where some of the old mines remain."

The microscope turned his helm away, refusing to speak further.

Starscream chuckled at the mech's stubbornness, Perceptor's expression furious while he bit his lip to remain firmly silent. He would allow the microscope to believe that his silence would be enough to protect those who remain hidden.

The Lord flicked his claws at the drones in dismissal, leading Perceptor out of the chamber with a coaxing hand lightly pressed between his shoulders. "I trust that you will find my home to be suitable to your needs." Starscream beckoned for Perceptor's attention, indicating with his other arm to sweep across the expanse of the large room and adjacent guest wings.

"This is…" Perceptor halted, but was pushed forward by the hand at his back, "…why are we in Megatron's residence-"

Starscream's fingers slid upward, lightly squeezing around Perceptor's nape. The microscope shuddered at the warning clack of the talons drumming along the struts of his collar.

"This estate is _mine_." The Decepticon Lord coldly educated his guest. "Megatron is gone. A cold and broken shell, left to decay on that Primus forsaken organic planet. And he can stay there."

Perceptor found he was being led deeper into the furthest room, Starscream punching in a five digit code into the keypad beside the door. "Where are we going?" Perceptor dared to ask.

Starscream merely smiled down at the mech's nervous question as the door slid open.

Perceptor had no choice but to follow the Lord, optics blinking in surprise at the private quarters spread out in front of them. An ornate table and seating arrangement sat in the middle of the vast room, presenting a banquet of plates of large and small energon cubes, chalices of oil, and decadent energon truffles upon the gleaming tabletop.

Timid now, not knowing what was required for him to do when standing in front of such a feast, Perceptor only sat down because Starscream coaxed him forward by bodily lifting the smaller mech. Once seated, the Lord sat Perceptor down, partially in his lap and upon the arm of seat at the head of the table, the microscope situated against his right side. Optics wide at his unusual seating arrangement and closeness to the Decepticon, Perceptor was literally frozen due to fright.

Perceptor shakily accepted the small cube of energon that Starscream dropped into his hands, not willing to test the Lord's patience by stubbornly refusing the vessel of glowing liquid. Starscream then picked up a larger cup for himself, downing the cube's succulent liquid offering in four large gulps.

Perceptor barely sipped at his container, glossa rolling and tasting the rich quality of the expensive energon, no doubt finer than any he has tasted in vorns. But regardless of its richness and splendor in taste, it could have been no more than ashes within his mouth, the microscope too unsettled by his current predicament to honestly savor the drink.

He spent almost a joor until he finally finished his smaller container of energon, taking small sips, one at a time. There was no conversation to be shared between the Decepticon and neutral, except for when Starscream reached for a truffle or two, taking one and holding out the other for Perceptor to partake. Again, Perceptor nibbled at the delicious treat, finding that both the energon and treat settled like a rock within his fuel tank.

Once the container was empty, Starscream took it from his smaller companion, settling it upon the tabletop. His hand returned, but instead to idly run his talons along the circumference of Perceptor's throat, energon cables thrumming beneath the soft dermal plating. "You managed to remain unregistered for quite some time." The Lord sounded faintly impressed.

Perceptor swallowed, nervous. "…I don't..want to be leashed. I am - I _was_ - a scientist. My schooling and my existence did not pertain for me to end up as merely a piece of property." Perceptor spoke softly and honestly, fingers twisting together, trying to ignore the tingle of the mech's talons tracing his sensitive dermal plating.

"A leash, hmm?" Starscream chuckled at the word. He continued to trace the mech's throat, deep in thought. "Yes…A collar would probably look quite pleasant." His thumb bumped Perceptor's chin up until the microscope's blue optics were riveted to his red.

"I don't wish to be a slave." Perceptor could not remove his gaze.

"Perhaps you would become more than that." Starscream pondered, bumping Perceptor's chin up further to meet him, the Lord leaning forward enough to nuzzle the side of the smaller mech's helm. His prey trembled violently at the close brush of sharp denta, as if fearing the Seeker would suddenly strike and tear open the expanse of his face or throat.

"Perhaps you would be more suited as my _pet_."

Perceptor dared to not break their shared gaze, back strut trembling, but his face obstinately remaining even, mute of expression and retaliating words.

Starscream's private communication link pinged, alerting the Lord of an incoming message. He tilted his head, listening to the garbled speech of the drone indicated that he had a visitor. "Thundercracker is finished with his conversation with your companion. He will be here in a few kliks."

The Decepticon Lord shifted, releasing his grip upon the microscope, permitting Perceptor to swiftly slide from his lap, dropping onto his pedes in front of the towering Seeker. "I will converse with Thundercracker. Meanwhile, I expect that you are exhausted from your adventure today. You will require rest, and that is nothing that recharge can not assist."

"But-" Perceptor faltered, torn between the opportunity to flee in the direction that the Seeker prods him – Starscream lightly nudging the microscope towards one of the sealed doors at the far corner of the room – While wishing to remain and hear any news about Hardline and the conditions of his imprisonment.

Starscream tsked in disapproval, prompting the microscope to _move_, Perceptor's tentative footfalls joined by the increasing strike of larger pedes striding towards the Lord's private chamber.

Perceptor hurried along, dreading the realization that the other Seeker would soon join his superior. He ducked into the room, ignoring the large recharge berth and slipping outside of viewing range from the other room, outside of the occupant's vantage point. Not that that was necessary since the thin sheet of metal snapped shut once he entered.

Remaining silent and leaning against the wall flanking the sealed door, Perceptor hushed any movement, audio sensors heighted in order to listen to the muffled discussion currently between the Seekers.

"My Lord." Thundercracker's voice solemnly greeted his superior.

"Were you able to determine anything from the prisoner?"

An ominous chuckle of laughter. "Was there any doubt?"

Starscream echoed the other Seeker's laughter. "And how long until the squads will be ready to proceed and move into position in order to collect the refugee party?"

"By the end of the orn."

"And their instructions were made precisely clear?" Starscream asked.

"Absolutely." Thundercracker swore. "No lethal force. The priority is capture and containment. We do not plan for too much resistance. I highly doubt that they would be prepared for the force and number of the soldiers tasked for their retrieval."

"Excellent." Starscream clearly sounded pleased. "Our stock of prisoners is overdue for a fresh supply. I'm sure the buyers will be excited by the newest additions."

Perceptor's fist clenched upon his chassis. _'That's impossible. Hardline…Hardline gave up the coordinates of the camp?'_

_'They won't stand a chance!'_ He felt nauseous at the thought of the helpless refugees, fuel tank churning violently at the notion. _'Hardly a handful has ever handled a weapon, and we have even fewer weapons available. There isn't a sliver of a chance that anyone would be able to put forth an impressive show of resistance.'_

Perceptor stifled a yip of terror as steps approached the door he was huddled nearby –

– If he was caught in the act of eavesdropping!

Scrambling, he dashed for the recharge berth, just managing to heave his weight upwards and collapse across the sprawling divan, curling on his side with his back facing the doorway. His optics shut off just as the door slid open with a soft hush of moving air.

He fought not to flinch as a hand tickled across the strut of his bicep; a gust of breath sweeping against his averted helm.

"I know that you are still online." Starscream's utterance shattered the microscope's attempt to feign recharge.

Perceptor's optics remained mostly black, except a tiny pinpoint of azure flickered to life. His fingers burrowing into his forearms, facing the wall connected to the recharge berth, trapped beneath the Seeker's hand.

"It must be hard to relax." Starscream sighed. Petting the microscope in concern as if the sharp talons running up and down his arm and across his helm would prove anything remotely comforting. "I will move my meeting into another chamber and leave you to gain some rest. If you require anything, then you only need to summon one of the service drones. The doors will open for you whenever you awaken and require their service."

Perceptor had to swallow a sound of surprise and confusion. Did Starscream not realize that the microscope had been listening to their meeting? And if not, then why would he go out of his way to provide the microscope a chance to regain his strength, as well as free reign to roam anywhere within his estate?

_'Maybe you should not look this gift quadruped in the mouth.'_ His CPU admonished.

Perceptor waited in heavy silence as the Decepticon Lord retreated from the room, and he did not mistake the sound of two sets of pedes leaving the main private chamber.

He laid still, remaining in place, not wishing to move too soon in case the Seekers were anywhere round the corner.

When his chronometer indicated that several breems safely passed without a sound or sight of either Seeker, Perceptor quietly slipped off the berth. Treading cautiously, he moved towards the door.

Ducking his head through the open doorway, the microscope timidly whipped left and right to ascertain that the room was clear.

Perceptor made a beeline for the main door, flinching at the loud snap of the metal sliding open.

The hallway was completely clear, wall mounted lamps dimmed, and there were no service drones visible on any of the staircases.

Seizing this one chance, Perceptor dashed towards the entryway, ducking behind a podium and bust of the Decepticon Lord.

Noticing that there were no sentries or guards visible, Perceptor hastened through the large open archway, putting all of his Spark into coaxing for more speed into his limbs as he ran towards freedom.

_'I have to warn everyone!'_ Perceptor noted the street he was currently on, banking sharply to the right, pulling forth a memory file, a miniaturized three-dimensioned map flashing across the screen of one optic outlining the quickest path to reach the coordinates of the refugee camp. _'We'll barely have enough time to evacuate everyone before the Decepticons reach the bunker!'_

* * *

Thundercracker peered curiously from atop the arched statue, the metal gargoyle resting upon the stylized sculpture of Primus from several stories above Starscream's estate.

"He's on the move, my Lord." Thundercracker informed his superior, ruby optics tracing the small mech's flight.

**"He didn't wait long, did he?"** Starscream chuckled over the comm.

"Staging the conversation outside the room was a brilliant tactic." Thundercracker shifted restlessly, crouching down closer to the building. "The other prisoner didn't give up any useful information. We will only need to follow your pet, and he will lead us right to them."

**"Follow him."** Starscream commanded. **"But not too closely. Do not risk his sensors picking up you or the other squads. Payload will rendezvous with you outside the city limits."**

"As you command, Lord Starscream."

**"And Thundercracker."**

"Yes, my Lord?"

**"Make sure to return my pet as quickly as possible once the mission is a success."** The Decepticon Lord advised his subordinate. **"I already miss him. **_**Terribly**_**."**

TBC in Part Two: All Hail Starscream


	2. Chapter 2

_**Title: All Hail Starscream (2/2)**_  
Title: All Hail Starscream (2/2)

Author: dreamerchaos

Fandom: IDW's comic-based Official Movie Sequel 'The Reign of Starscream'.

Rating: R. Warning. Dubious consent and gore thrown into several parts.

Pairing: StarscreamxPerceptor.

Disclaimer: All recognizable characters are owned by Hasbro.

Characters: Perceptor. Starscream. Hoist. Grapple. Payload. Thundercracker. Original characters.

Summary: Starscream has returned to Cybertron, dealing with the small group of Decepticons who had threatened to overthrow the Seeker upon his return. Now that the immediate threat is over, Starscream, as the current Lord of the Decepticons, must deal with the small refugee groups and neutrals who continue to evade the grasp of him and his soldiers.

Author Note: The Reign of Starscream paperback copy that I now own has an _awesome_ glossary on the various characters in the comic edition. Was a tremendous help for me when writing these sections. I had been stuck several times trying to remember names and faces.

Time Units, following nova_myth's references from recent drabbles:

Kilk- 1.2 minutes  
Breem- 8 min  
Joor- 1 hour  
Orn- 1 day  
Meta-cycle- 13 months-1 year- 400 orns  
Vorn- 83 years

'…_please. Please hurry!' _Perceptor's vents taxed beyond measure, the microscope tripping over a hidden pile of metal as he ran headlong through the maze of crumpled buildings of the small mining town outside Trypticon's city limits. He stumbled onto his knees and onto the ground, coughing as a puff of dirt rose to kiss his face and tickle down his throat.

'_I have to warn everyone before it is too late!' _Already the orn was quickly drawing to a close, the closest sun to Cybertron winking out along the horizon. One of the planet's moons began to tease its way through the heavens, marking the time that has passed since Perceptor's escape from the Decepticon Lord's estate.

The entrance was not too far, now. Perceptor could just make out the hidden seam of the double doors up ahead against the towering hill of crumpled metal buildings.

Wheezing to a stop, and bending over, Perceptor took a few precious seconds to cool down, chassis heaving from being overworked. Gulping to relieve the dryness of his esophageal tubing, he pushed his hands off from his knees, standing up straight and approaching the sealed doors masking the concealed entrance.

'_Hide the entrance in plain sight.' _He remembered Grapple boasting about the hidden entrance hall, the crane grinning at the perplexed look on the microscope's face. _'The Decepticons will be expecting the camp to be somewhere in a larger urban sector. Even if they are tempted to explore these abandoned tunnels, they won't breach the doors if there are no traces of anyone who has come or gone.'_

'_You were correct, Grapple.' _Perceptor admitted in respect to his friend's wisdom. All of the refugees promptly learned to eliminate the traces of footprints leading towards the entrance, as well as check to ascertain that the tiny holographic projectors remaining hidden and functioning. Providing only a tiny pulse to lay out a low-beam holographic image to disguise the entrance, but not using so much power that it would attract the drones' radar, nor would there be a helpful flash of polished metal to draw the aerial bots down to explore for the tiny gadgets.

Perceptor was exceptionally pleased that it was his idea to administer a minute amount of acid to the entire face coating of the projectors. The application worked extremely well in scarring the metal polishing, thus removing the risk of the sun flashing across the shiny steel plating.

Rushing to the sealed doors, Perceptor thrust both hands into the tight seam. Grunting with exertion, the microscope ground his pedes into the ground and he pushed with all of his might. Slow and steady the doors began to endeavor to open wide, the microscope's arms quaking with the strain of forcing the heavy metal doors to push apart wide enough to allow him access to slip past.

Just when he was sliding through, Perceptor paused at a loud clang of metal against metal. From not too far behind. Turning to peer over his shoulder, he glanced back at the path where he had tripped.

Not too far beyond the pile of metal he had stumbled upon, a drone ducked behind a large pile of metal and garbage.

Perceptor's vocals shuddered out a gasp. Shocked by how closely a drone was tailing him. _'Primus! Has the raid already begun?!'_

He did not have any time to waste. Not losing any valuable astroseconds to struggle and reseal the doors, Perceptor dove through, thankful that the drone would at least need to struggle with the doors for a moment or two, its bulk far greater than the microscope's.

"_Ace_!" Perceptor cried out for the femme as he raced down the tunnel. Stiffening at the loud clanging bellow from the entrance, the drone now arriving and heaving its bulk against the barrier. "Ace? _Ace! Hoist! Grapple!_ _**Anyone!**_"

He reached the main bunker, slamming into the sealed doors. Pounding both fists into the metal, Perceptor called out for his companions. "Open the door! It is I! Perceptor!!"

"_Perceptor!" _The doors fell open, the microscope collapsing into Hoist's arms. The mech laughed, swinging the mech into the room. "Perceptor! I thought that I would never see you again! When you and Hardline didn't return, we feared the worst!"

"Hoist!" Perceptor wiggled, trying to break free. "Hoist, please! Release me! We have to warn everyone-"

"What is going on?! Hoist, are you making that racket!" A slim silver and black femme stomped over to them, blue optics narrowed in disapproval.

"Ace…" Perceptor wheezed past the tight pressure of his friend squeezing around his middle. "Listen to me. You have to tell everyone to evacuate-"

"What's going on?" Grapple strode up behind Ace. Peering at the spectacle in confusion until he saw whom Hoist was assaulting. "Perceptor! You've returned! But…where's Hardline?"

"What do you mean, evacuate?" Another voice rang out from within the bunker. Within the depths of the dimly lit bunker, many pairs of bright blue optics turned to peer at the microscope, turning away from the soft burn of the tiny lamps dotting the camp floor. Various mechs and two femmes turned towards the entrance, looking at Perceptor in confusion and consternation.

"Everyone calm down." Their designated 'leader', Velocity, a tall black and green ground mech, held his hands in the air, trying to enforce silence as the refugees' voices rose up.

Their voices rose even higher.

"What's going on!"

"Where's Hardline?"

"Hoist! For Primus' sake, you're squeezing the Spark out of him!"

"Listen to me!" Perceptor shouted. "Everyone listen!"

"Everyone…**SHUT…UP!!**" Velocity bellowed, his roar echoing across the metal walls.

Everyone froze, rarely having heard the mech lose his patience and raise his voice.

"Perceptor." Velocity strode over. "_What is going on?_"

"We have to get out of here!!" Perceptor's voice instilled with sky rocketing panic. "Decepticons! The Decepticons are launching a raid! Right NOW!"

The refugees began to shout and argue.

"That's impossible!"

"How did they find us?!"

"What do we do? How many of them are there?"

"_You!" _Ace bore down on Perceptor, face snarling in close proximity to his. "You led them right to us. Didn't you!"

"No! I overheard Starscream-"

The utterance of the dreaded Lord's name caused panic to rise throughout the bunker. Refugees screaming in fright.

"Ace, shut down your vocal processor!" Velocity growled at the hot-tempered femme. He swept around the address the restless crowd of twenty or so refugees milling around opposite of the small group of Perceptor's close friends at the bunker's entrance. "Everyone calm down! Perceptor is right. We need to move! Take only what you can carry! Hoist! Grapple! You know the tunnels. We need to start moving everyone out as quickly as possible--"

A sharp scream rang out from a nearby tunnel. A mech acting as sentry fell through the entrance, fingers scrabbling at the floor.

"**DECEPTICONS!" **A drone appeared from the tunnel's dark depths, catching the fallen mech by his ankles, jerking him back into the corridor's recesses. Never halting even when the mech desperately grabbed the doorframe to try to halt his capture, but easily snapping the prisoner up like a fish on a lure.

Several refugees screamed the mech's name as he was ripped away from their sight.

"Frag." Velocity stumbled back. "Slaggit! Everyone! Abandon the bunker right now!"

Someone else had time to scream, "It's an ambush!" when the ceiling above literally exploded.

Perceptor's scream echoed with the others, Hoist and Grapple falling beside him as they ducked down and covered their helms against the raining debris.

From above the few remaining shreds of metal beams and boulders sag along the perimeter of the gaping maw in the ceiling, steadily shorn away at the hands of too many drones clustered together in one spot. Singular optics focused upon the endeavor to reveal the prey trapped underground. The massive wound in the ceiling opening up to the sky, aerial borne Decepticon and drones appearing by the handfuls.

Thundercracker's thrusters held him aloft, the Seeker grinning triumphantly from the air down at the stunned refugees milling around within the exposed camp.

"Take them." He uttered in proud triumph.

Pandemonium cracked like lightning through the refugees. Immediately mechs and femmes were fleeing in every direction.

Drones and aerial mechs dropped through the destroyed ceiling, beta drones falling through while carrying portable cages. The cages were soon beginning to acquire occupants. One aerial Decepticon easily scooped up two mechs before they could evade him, casually dropping the prisoners into their small cells, the smaller drones shutting and sealing the cages before they could attempt an escape.

"GO!" Velocity snapped at Perceptor and the others hunkered down, jabbing once with his hand in the small group's direction, before catching the blaster that popped out of subspace from his chest. "Run! I'll hold them off!"

"I'm not going to leave you!" Ace shouted in refusal.

"_Ace!_ Listen to me for fragging once! Just go!"

"Ace. We have to go!" Grapple pleaded, catching her by the shoulder, trying to tug her back away from Velocity.

"No!" She screamed.

"You stupid youngling!" Velocity shouted frustrated beyond measure, before diving into the crazed fray of refugees and shoulders, the leader hoping to help and save a few of them from the Decepticon forces.

"Come on!" Hoist levered Perceptor onto his pedes. "We need to get out of here!"

Ace tore her optics away from the direction that Velocity had disappeared. "The mines." She stated voice oddly flat and calm. Watching the pandemonium occurring right in front of them, dissociative, watching as if the spectacle was merely a revolving reel of film from an old movie. "We'll head down through the old mines."

"No!" Perceptor gasped, horrified by the mere suggestion.

"It's the only way!" She growled.

"Not a chance." Grapple refused sharply. "I'd rather face Megatron in person before risking the collapse of the mines or enduring starvation down there!"

"He's right." Hoist insisted, catching Ace's hand, stalling a furious swing at the crane. "Calm down and think for a moment, Ace! We checked the mines already. They are too unstable. We will not make it!"

"There has to be a way!" Ace heatedly insists.

"Maybe…" Grapple looked left and right, pushing his companions to stay low and avoid two nearby Decepticons concentrating on sweeping up another group of refugees. "Our only option is the _other_ tunnel."

"There _isn't_ one!" Perceptor said. "You know this! We're cut off."

"There is one." The crane insisted. "It's a hidden escape tunnel that Hoist and I found not that long after we set up camp here." He quickly defended himself at the betrayed look on his friends' faces. "I didn't mention it because I don't know where it leads! We didn't have the time or the mechs to spare in exploring."

"He's right. It's the only way." Hoist agreed. "There is no other option."

"Then lead the way." Perceptor encouraged, cutting off a rebuke from Ace.

"This way!" Grapple grabbed Hoist by the hand, who grasped Perceptor's, who tugged Ace along, grabbing her by the wrist when she looked ready to argue once more.

The chain of interlocked hands connected them as they ran along the periphery of the mass hysteria of refugees and Decepticons intermingled together. Too many bodies clustered together in the bunker, its available space quickly diminished by the numerous soldiers.

It was shockingly easy to avoid any drones or mechs as Grapple led them to safety. The crane seemingly possessing a secondary sensory network to navigate when and where it was necessary to duck and hide, or run and not risk detection.

"Here…" Grapple slapped a hand upon a hidden panel at the far corner of the bunker. A concealed door opening, only widening enough for one of them to slip through at a time. From within the jagged opening, a cold and seemingly endless tunnel stretched before them. The entrance and tunnel would be too small for far larger mechs to conceive of using as an escape route. "Hoist! Go!"

"What about you-" Hoist started.

Grapple shoved him into the escape tunnel. "You lead, I'll cover our back!"

"Perceptor!" Grapple squeezed a hand on Perceptor's shoulder before the microscope ducked down, crawling into the tight corridor. "Ace!" Perceptor shouted the femme's name.

No way to mistaken the sound of her cursing as she scuttled on her hands and knees through the tunnel's small entrance. "This better work, Grapple!" She warned.

"Hurry, Grapple!" Hoist shouted from up ahead, the mech disappearing in the gloom, no more than a few inches from Perceptor, but the darkness too thick for his optics to discern the proximity of his friend.

"AAAhh!"

The crane's scream drew the microscope to turn and lunge toward the entrance. "Grapple!" Perceptor twists around, Ace shouting explicitly as he fell atop her. At the entranceway, Grapple kicked and fought within the headlock of a large Decepticon, the crane twisting powerlessly within the purple mech's arms.

"You're not getting away, little crane." Payload reared onto his pedes, holding his prisoner tight against his chassis.

"GRAPPLE!" Hoist threw himself forward, squashing Perceptor as he desperately scrabbled to reach the tunnel's entrance. _"GRAPPLE!"_

"It's too late!" Ace wrapped herself around his waist, and Perceptor caught Hoist by his legs before the mech could get too close.

"No, Hoist! No! I'm sorry. I'm so sorry! But it's too late!" Perceptor pleaded. "We have to go!"

"Get out of here!" Grapple screamed at his friend, catching sight of Hoist close to the entrance. "Hoist! Go!"

Together Perceptor and Ace fervently dragged Hoist back, away from the entrance. Not too soon, either, because a drone lunged towards them, but found it was too big to fit in after them. Its talons raked inches from Hoist's face as it thrust its arm into the tunnel in an attempt to snag at least one of the refugees.

"Move, move, move!" Ace shoved Perceptor and Hoist ahead of her. "Move your afts!"

"Hoist!" Perceptor slung an arm around the mech's shoulder, murmuring soft words of encouragement as he dragged the bereft mech alongside.

"Grapple…no..." Hoist shook with anguish.

"It's okay. Grapple's tough." He used his hands to trace the path of the tunnel. It was so dark…It felt as if the tunnels were closing in on them. The darkness echoing every breath, amplifying the sounds of their vents to mimic a gust of wind, every scuff and scrape of hands and knees upon the pitted metal floor screeching like nails across a chalkboard. Perceptor and Hoist reached an intersection in the tunnel. Making a random choice, he took the left fork. "Knowing him, he will hand that Decepticon his aft. Just you wait. We will find him. Later. I promise." Perceptor swore to him.

"Less talking, more moving!" Ace complained. "The view isn't that great from back here."

"Y-yeah." Hoist agreed after a moment of hesitation.

"It's somewhere up ahead." Perceptor encouraged his companions. "I can feel a draft of air. We must be close by."

"Not too soon for my tastes." Ace huffed in relief.

"There!" Hoist gestured up ahead, not too far a small square of moonlight illuminating the end of the tunnel.

"Almost there." Perceptor stated; feeling victorious.

Hoist was the first to tumble out of the exit. He yelped in surprise as he rolled down the hill of smooth metal and dirt, the tunnel's entrance spilling out from the face of another mountain of buildings.

Perceptor followed no less acrobatically, landing on his aft beside his friend.

"That…" Hoist winced as he pushed upon onto his knees. "Let's not do that again." He pleaded.

Ace dropped gracefully as an acrobat landing beside them, nonchalant about the rough terrain. While her companions winced at the sore state of both their rear-ends hitting the cold hard ground. "Get up. We need to get out of sight." She commanded her small unit of reluctant soldiers.

"Lead the way." Perceptor bowed out of her path.

All of a sudden Ace froze, raising her hand to halt the other two mechs. "Wait." She warned. Head tilted. Listening…

"Incoming!" Perceptor shouted in warning, diving for the ground as the Seeker roared above.

"AAAH!"

"AARRgh!"

Hoist and Ace collapsed upon their knees, cradling their audios. Thundercracker's sonic blast strong enough to cause their receptors to bleed, helms ringing in agony.

Perceptor did not escape unscathed but he had been more prepared, anticipating the attack when he recognizing the Seeker swooping down upon them. He wrapped a hand around both the mech and femme's upper arms, dragging them onto their pedes. "Run!" Their equilibrium was off balance, and audios still ringing, but they understood the gesture rather than the command; stirring to follow the microscope's lead.

"We can't outrun him!" Hoist panted, running at his left flank.

"Frag this!" Ace snapped from the right. Perceptor turned, gob smacked as the femme halted and spun, pulling a small blaster from a sheath in her long leg. "I'm done with running!"

"You can't!" Hoist entreated her to listen to reason. "He's right behind us!"

"That blaster can't possibly damage him!" Ace must have lost her CPU if she believed that the tiny weapon would do anything other than greatly irritate the large Seeker.

"Just stay out of my way!" Ace let out a loud scream of battle rage, swinging the weapon around and firing directly into Thundercracker's face as the Seeker assumed his bipedal form meters away from their position.

The shots pinged harmlessly off his skin. His red optics blinked, face twisted in surprise at the bounce of the shells off his chassis. Talons scratched absentmindedly at the minor scuffs upon his paint.

"That tickled." The Seeker murmured in afterthought.

"Oh Primus…" Hoist and Perceptor huddled away from the Seeker, cowering at Ace's back. "It's the scrap heap for us. Or worse…the auction block."

"Ace! Stand down!" Perceptor beseeched the young femme. "This is only a suicide run!"

"I'll show him otherwise!" Ace growled, racing towards the towering mech.

"No!"

"Ace!!" Hoist screamed.

Thundercracker swung his right arm around, battle-axe snapping forward from his wrist. The long blade neatly severed the femme's blaster as she hovered – almost moving in slow motion in midair – Ace caught in mid-leap.

The Seeker roared in berserker fury, left arm speeding forward, wrapping around Ace's chassis. He twisted around, smashing the femme into the ground flat upon her back, burying the fighter and half of his fist into the dirt. The implosion at the abrupt impact created a small crater, dust hissing around the victorious Seeker crouched over the femme, battle-axe sliding dangerously close to her face.

"…ggkk*..ktt*…!" A wet slap of energon erupted from Ace's mouth, arms snapping up and down brokenly near her head.

"Poor thing." Thundercracker clucked in displeasure, feigning concern at her damaged exterior. "I damaged your vocal processor." He squeezed his fist, eliciting another wet gurgle and harsh spill of energon from between her lips.

"_Ace." _Hoist whispered in horror. Perceptor shivered. Both mechs scared stiff, limbs locked as the Seeker rose to stand above the loser of their short, rather dismal standoff.

"As for _you_…" Thundercracker negligently stepped away from Ace's form, walking towards the other two refugees. Lowering down onto one knee, Thundercracker grinning with pleasure as the two mechs cowered. Battle-axe withdrawn, the Seeker reached forward, hooking the fingers of his right hand under Perceptor's chin, tugging the microscope closer.

"_You_ have an unnerving habit for making the chase far too long and yet so very enjoyable."

He smiled toothily, sharp denta menacing the microscope as he and his friend wilting in front of his optics, shoulders slumped and helms lowered in defeat.

Thundercracker joined the rest of the squads, the last of the drones setting down the remaining cages housing prisoners; creating a long caravan among the ruined buildings. Captives whimpered and quaked within the iron cages, shivering in the center of the cells, jolting away from the bars whenever a Decepticon wandered too close.

The Seeker deposited his three prisoners into the care of his small drone squad, the two mechs and femme immediately separated from another. The femme taken to a medic for repairs, and the other two placed under guard to ensure that they would not attempt to run away again.

Thundercracker turned as he was hailed by a familiar voice, the purple mech striding to meet him.

"An outstanding capture!" Payload spread his arms in greeting to the tall Seeker. Somehow, his single yellow optic managed to portray his pleasure and animation. "Twenty five prisoners in one raid. This is the largest retrieval we have had in many orns!"

"Lord Starscream will be pleased by the results." Thundercracker grinned.

"Yes." Payload agreed. "This is an excellent stock. Many are apprentices, teachers, engineers, or scientists. Some of the tools and small projects that we discovered inside the camp are _very_ promising, if they are what to go by."

"You're certainly enjoying yourself." Thundercracker could not help but to chuckle at the Decepticon's enthusiasm.

"Indeed." Payload turned his optic towards a particular cage, where a drone hefted Hoist into a cage, placing him with Grapple. The crane embracing his friend as Hoist buckled into his arms, hiding his face against Grapple's shoulder. "Those two especially interest me. They would do wonders with assisting with my work."

"Well…" Thundercracker laid a hand on Payload's shoulder in good company. He bent down, holding a private huddle with the mech. "Your assistance was invaluable. In addition, as promised, you will have first choice when they are up for auction. I don't think there will be any problems with you obtaining both of them."

Payload bobbed his head, hands clapping together as he expressed his gratitude with a formal bow. "My humble thanks, to you and Lord Starscream, Thundercracker." He turned towards the Seeker's entourage of drones, lens narrowing upon the microscope held firmly prisoner. "Lord Starscream's pet is also safely returned. That will please him even more so."

The microscope was literally spitting mad, releasing a howl of anger as he faced Thundercracker. _"You!"_ Perceptor struggled to tear his arms free of the drones. "You used me! You vile…cretin! Animal! Bastard! You wanted me to lead you straight to them!"

"And you performed _beautifully_." Thundercracker applauded Perceptor's actions. "Look at how well the operation turned out." He motioned towards all of the cages currently prepped for travel back to Trypticon.

"Hardline didn't give in to you." Perceptor stated matter-of-factly. Furious with himself for believing that his companion would betray his friends, and equally furious that he had fallen for Starscream's bait. "If I had never played the fool for your trick, then you and the rest of these soldiers would never have found our camp."

"You truly believe that to be true?" Thundercracker asked, crouching down in front of Perceptor, to better to meet his optics.

Perceptor sneered up at him. "You would be left to paw in the dirt. Never to find hide or trace of anyone."

The Seeker smiled. Genuinely amused by the microscope's stern face and the curt commentary. "Oh, I do not believe so." Thundercracker kindly informed the microscope. He leaned closer, as if to partake in revealing a terrible secret.

"You see, my tiny friend. Even without your assistance, between you and your other friend that we captured, we collected enough information to find your camp. Within a fortnight. At the latest."

"Impossible." Perceptor disagreed, shaking his head left and right in heated disagreement. "That's not true!"

"_Yes_, it is." Thundercracker insisted. He reached forth, scraping his talons along the grit caked upon Perceptor's face and scope, rubbing the soil between his fingers, holding the sample in front of the microscope's optics. "You and your companion…Hardline, was it?...were covered in a layer of dirt. That soil that you took for granted every orn…" Thundercracker amused himself with the incredulous look upon the mech's face. "We would only need to run a few tests upon the samples of dirt we obtained from your persons, and the analysis would yield very useful information about your camp's whereabouts."

He delighted in the shift of expression. The dawning realization steadily cinching tighter and tighter like a noose. _"Yesss…" _The Seeker hissed. He moved even closer, Perceptor unable to fall back, arms held firm and tight between two drones. "That soil is concentrated only in specific sectors. It would rule out other sections outside the city, leaving our squads with the precious time and resources to concentrate in areas that are more suitable; better and easier to find your camp when we are converged upon a single or perhaps two sectors."

"But…" Perceptor could not find the words to interconnect. "I…but I…this can't be…"

"Oh, but it is." Thundercracker rose, slicing his hand in the drone unit's direction. "Make sure that our Lord's pet is swiftly and safely returned to his master!" He commanded. The drones bowing to comply, tugging to microscope towards an aerial carrier that would deliver him to Starscream's estate.

Thundercracker observed the craft take off, grinning at the thought of Perceptor's arrival and the welcoming he would receive from the Decepticon Lord. "I'm sure that Lord Starscream will enjoy rewarding his pet for his assistance." He trembled in gratification and longing at the very notion.

Continued in Epilogue

Epilogue with contain mature content. Be forewarned.


	3. Chapter 3

_**Title: All Hail Starscream Epilogue**_  
Title: All Hail Starscream Epilogue

Author: dreamerchaos

Fandom: IDW's comic-based Official Movie Sequel 'The Reign of Starscream'.

Rating: MA. Mature. Warning. Dubious consent!

Pairing: StarscreamxPerceptor.

Disclaimer: All recognizable characters are owned by Hasbro.

Characters: Perceptor. Starscream. Various characters from the comic as well.

Summary: Starscream has returned to Cybertron, dealing with the small group of Decepticons who had threatened to overthrow the Seeker upon his return. Now that the immediate threat is over, Starscream, as the current Lord of the Decepticons, must deal with the small refugee groups and neutrals who continue to evade the grasp of him and his soldiers. 

Important note: Dubious consent! Might not be for the faint or squeamish. It won't be absolutely _terrible_, but I'm giving you fair warning. If you have problems with consent issues, then it would probably be safe just to avoid this portion entirely. 

Time Units, following nova_myth's references from recent drabbles:

Kilk- 1.2 minutes  
Breem- 8 min  
Joor- 1 hour  
Orn- 1 day  
Meta-cycle- 13 months-1 year- 400 orns  
Vorn- 83 years 

"Unhand me this instant, you malfunctioning, oversized oafs!"

Starscream raised his optics from the datapads spread across the span of his impromptu reading desk, sitting at the head of the banquet table. Reviewing a handful of charts and graphs, as well as the most recent summarized report on the successful mission on the retrieval of the small group of refugees.

"Aaah. Perceptor!" Starscream cheerfully greeted the microscope as he entered the room. Or perhaps, - to be more correct and forward about the truth – the microscope is _dragged _through the entryway, his heels scratching across the tiled floor as he fell underneath the pressure of their solid unmoving hands. Lugged inside, resisting, his rage impotent, bodily hauled against his will, into the room. "How kind of you to return to me. You are indeed a punctual and thoughtful mech."

The Decepticon Lord rose from his seat, a sharp scowl at the drones, causing Perceptor's guards into swiftly releasing the prisoner's arms before the two incurred their Lord's wrath.

"Leave us." Starscream prompted them, the command sharp, snapping them into action. The drones retreating the way they had came, allowing their Lord and his pet some much needed privacy.

Perceptor's face twisted into a scowl of disgust, glaring up at the Seeker. "Did my performance amuse you, my _Lord_?" The microscope shuffled several steps towards the side, edging away from the Seeker. Trying to, unobtrusively, shift ever so closer to the main door entrance.

"Did your little slave provide enough entertainment to suit his master's fancy?!" Perceptor bit out the words.

The Decepticon Lord's optics slit into tight red beams of malevolent scarlet. Staring down the microscope, a warning clearly etched into his next words. "I would watch your tone. I find it very disrespectful."

Perceptor, tired of enduring constant instruction about what to do, what to _feel_, and how to behave, had had **enough**. "I will not watch my tone! And do not speak to me about respect, when you possess no knowledge or compassion in order to wield such an emotion!"

"Calm yourself this instant." The Seeker warned coldly.

"No!"

"_Perceptor-"_

"No!" The microscope shouted right back at him. "I will **not **cower and grovel to you. I will not roll over and bare my anterior plating in a show of submission, just to sate your sick, perverted desire to have every mech and femme tremble and simper at your pedes! I'm sick of this – I'm sick of YOU!"

The Seeker's wings lightly thrummed with tension, shifting and twitching as fury slowly began to beat through his energon tubing. Denta gritting as he rose above the microscope, standing and glaring down like an aerial metal god. Severe and equally awe-inspiring.

"One final warning, Perceptor." Starscream's voice is frigid. Talons squeezing together into a tight fist at his sides.

"Just stop." Perceptor twisted his hands over his audios, face torn between fury and agony. "Just….stop this. Leave me alone…Just let me go. I don't want to stay here. I. Don't. Want. To. Be. Here. With. You. I don't want to have anything to do with you." His helm throbbed, vents heated as the emotions fired through his circuits. Coolants threatening to leak from his optics from the frustration and lack of control that he possessed.

He began to ramble. "You're horrible. You're a monster. Every time I look at you, all I feel is horror and disgust. Why? Why am I even here?! I'm not your slave or servant! I never chose to become your property. This isn't fair. I'm not a slave. I am…I was a scientist! Why are you doing this? _I'm not your property!_"

It should not have failed to surprise him when the hand stifled his next words, muffling a cry of fear and outrage, talons clicking together as the Decepticon's grip stifled his vocal processor. Pressure encircled, tighter and tighter, and while the violent act would not incite the microscope to suffocate, the cruel pressure began to rupture and bruise sensitive wiring underneath the flexible dermal plating.

Far too easy to let him off with something as simple as a small, sharp slap of punishment. A harsh rebuke, a jolting shake, would never be enough to discipline the mech for his tone and failure to follow his Lord's command.

Perceptor's mandible and throat fit snuggly within his palm. The room spun, dizzily, the ceiling tilting and suddenly he is smashed flat upon the banquet table. Datapads and chalices of energon spill from the gleaming surface, rattling to the floor. Precious lavender fluid creating abstract artwork upon the tile, a mockery, and mimicry of the life fluid that thrummed underneath the microscope's plating.

His sensors screamed in agony, back strut threatening to warp and bend, slammed as he was upon the table. His pedes never met the floor, the table top too high for his limbs to touch the ground.

"You are too daring for your own good." Starscream's face snarls against his own. Visage offering no hint of mercy, no implication for respite; such things were beneath the Lord's contemplation.

He was very eager to remind Perceptor that he dallied with the temper of a mighty, vengeful beast.

Who suffered nothing…Least of all for his pet who did not know when it was wiser to submit, cowed, rather than to snap and bare his fangs. Challenging his Lord for dominance.

"You are property." Starscream bent closer, giving one hard shake as Perceptor's optics narrow, an argument forming and twisting within the mech's stubborn, frightened gaze. "No other being will address you as slave. You are no one's slave but_ mine_. I would give you more than any slave would ever be offered. My pet. _My own_. Despite all that I am willing to offer, you dare to hackle and whine."

"-mmmmph!" Perceptor screamed shrilly against the palm of his hand. In outrage, he kicked at Starscream's waist, slighter limbs banging like tribal drums against the thicker metal. The attack merely frustrating the Lord further.

Starscream growled. "I have suffered far more agreeably with my own enemies than with _you_." The Lord shoved closer, width forcing the microscope's lower limbs to spread and accommodate his bulk. "Perhaps I should cease treating you as my favored pet, and more like the slaves or prostitutes who warm the company of my soldiers and officers."

The comment garnered quite an intriguing reaction. His pet froze within his hand, fingers still enwrapped around his wrist. Blue optics staring up at him, wide and disbelieving, refusing to accept the words uttered by his Lord.

"Now _there_ is a pleasant idea." With one swift turn, the Seeker flipped the smaller mech over until the microscope sprawled flat, chin smacking upon the tabletop.

"NNN! MMMMMNn!!" His mouth still shielded with Starscream's hand, Perceptor bucked against the larger mech at his back. Hands slapping the slick surface, fingers scratching the smooth finish as he endeavored to scrabble free from his captor.

"You continue to wail about enduring the title as my pet." Starscream propped his weight upon the mech, other arm and hand reaching around Perceptor's waist. Fingers possessively surrounding the mech's codpiece, forcing his hips to arch, bumping the microscope's aft and back strut to meet the Seeker's chassis. "Mayhap you would prefer I treat you like one of the slaves offered to sate my _sick_…_perverted_ desires." Starscream hissed, repeating the microscope's earlier accusations with heat that scorched the mech's audios.

Perceptor trembled at the foreign weight and pressure between his legs, the guiding hand rubbing his body against the Seeker's. Like a beast in heat.

"Do you know what they do with prisoners?" Starscream asked, hunched over, dragging his glossa along one trembling audio, "Especially what they _did_ more frequently with prisoners near the beginning of the war?"

He dipped his hand, fingers tracing the seams of the sliding plate hiding the treasure of the mech's interface port.

"There was nothing greater than a fresh prize soon after a raid or battle." Starscream continued his storytelling. "And the prize always went to the highest officer or the soldier who exhibited the greatest courage or fortitude during battle."

Starscream ground against Perceptor, eliciting a short whimper at the screech of metal upon metal.

"Imagine having no rights. Possessing no title. You were no different from the refuse that littered the streets. Available for the picking, at the leisure of whoever saw fit.

"Your pleas and insults incur _nothing_. No mercy. No rebuke. Why bother disciplining something _inferior_. Someone who does not know better when to welcome and enjoy the soldier's company as best as he or she could. Better to spread their legs willingly rather than to have them wedged open and their bodies plundered, fighting uselessly until he or she is battered and bruised. When he or she could have avoided the shame and injury simply by acknowledging the situation and accepting that there is only the _here_ and the _now, _rather than the uncertainty of the streets or of the empty battleground and the empty shells of your friends and allies."

Perceptor's vocals diminished into a stream of static when Starscream's fingers delve into the seam of his thigh, locating and pressing the hidden switch. The panel over his interface port snapping open with a sound that rippled through him; causing him to start like the echo of a wet twig snapping in the dark of a deep, black forest.

"It is far worse to be _trash_, rather then to be a slave or a pet." Starscream rubbed the tip of one talon along the smooth rim of the revealed port, riding the hard buckle and arch as the microscope instinctively ground against the stimulation. Grinning against Perceptor's shoulder when catching the sound of the helpless cry that escaped, the mech shamed by his body's illicit response.

"Trash is a mech or femme who is worth _nothing_, whether when lying in the gutter, or lying on the recharge berth. Trash has no Spark. No voice. No name. There is no point to praise or punish them for every good or negative act. Trash has no purpose but to eventual discard. Why reward or punish them?" Starscream snorted at the notion. "As if trash is capable or worth the time and effort to educate them on their prowess or mistakes. Drones are far more suitable. At least they are already programmed with the databanks and functions to suit their proprietor!"

Starscream allowed the hand over Perceptor's mouth to release, resting the larger hand palm flat upon the table, just above the mech's shoulder.

The microscope's breath wheezes when he was set free. The new freedom allowed him more availability to gulp down the precious atmosphere and cool down his systems.

Rather, his denta bit into his own hand, gritting onto the plating joining his forefinger and thumb. Using the grip to stifle the soft cries of bitter arousal as the Lord's finger delved deeper into his port, the invader scratching the sensitized wires and electrodes. Drawing forward an ache that settled between the microscope's legs, one he had not felt since before the War.

"A slave or pet, however," Starscream continued, cool and calm, the only sign of his restlessness were the rumble of his engines. The smooth growl and hum of the Seeker's jet form snarling like a half-slumbering dragon. "A slave or pet is groomed into his or her position. The owner determines how often to reward or punish, and to choose the magnitude or severity of such actions. This education is priceless, because the pet learns the role and necessity that their position in their master's household entails and the reputation of that master and house that must be upheld."

"You would make us no better than a fine piece of artwork. Or a fragile, expensive rug-" Perceptor grunt out, hand released from his biting grip, head hanging between his shoulders, words rasping between open lips, "J-Just something to primp and show off!"

"Is it such a terrible thing?" Starscream asked, genuinely curious, "Is it such a terrible thing that the pet or slave's master wishes to proudly present and demonstrate their masterpiece? A brilliant schematic of loyalty and beauty reserved only for his or her Lord. Untouched by others, save for the master. Any other Cybertronian who would dare to mar the pet with ill words or a callous blow forced to suffer the master's punishment for their thoughtless deed."

Starscream's weight shifted, pushing Perceptor's chassis completely flat upon the table. Not allowing a sliver of space or an inch in order to shift or maneuver. "You should feel so lucky that I wish to hold you in regards as my pet, rather than my _whore_." The Lord growled.

"But alas…" Starscream sighed in soft regret, "Such a shame that my pet must suffer punishment rather than reward. You would do best to learn to hold your glossa in the future, Perceptor."

There was little warning except for the snap of the Seeker's plates sliding open. Perceptor let out a sharp cry as Starscream _thrust. _The plug piercing between his spread legs, snapping and locking into his port.

"_Hush."_ Starscream chided, not stirred by his pet's whimper. "Take your punishment like a mech. Or better yet, take your punishment like a _**Decepticon**_."

He captured the hands digging for a hold upon the table, talons clacking like ivory fangs as they wound together with Perceptor's, seaming their grip as one.

"Aaah….no…don't, please…" Perceptor begged, face pinched at the fierce stab of pain/pleasure. Not a virgin, by any means; in the past the microscope had shared pleasant interface sessions with close, dear acquaintances.

This…was far too cruel. A mockery of such an intimate, pleasurable act.

All that Starscream intends is to establish and confirm his dominance.

Starscream appeared to read his thoughts. He bent down, the motion pushing him closer and deeper, drawing another sharp cry from his partner. Sharp denta bit at the smooth neck plating, incurring a _delicious_ shudder to race up his pet's back strut. "What is it that you hate more?" The Lord inquired. "That I can so easily establish my power over you with this act," He rocked his hips, and this time Perceptor can not muffle the abrupt scream elicited by the snap of electricity thrumming between his legs as the plug scrapes sensitive receptors, "Or does it bother you more that your body finds a deep, twisted sort of _pleasure_ from this act?"

"_No-"_

"_Yes." _He maneuvered Perceptor's wrists to cross together, allowing the Seeker to hold both hands pinned with only one of his. His other hand gripped the back of the microscope's helm, yanking his head back a ways, throat bent and arched back.

"Your body betrays you, when your words do not." Starscream rasped his denta against the freshly revealed dermal plating available for the plunder, scraping and scratching the untarnished surface. "You can't help but to _ache _for it. Whenever I falter or pause-"

To prove his word, Starscream halts. Pausing in mid-thrust, plug to port connecting their bodies with the bare trace of the interface cable entwining the two mechs together.

Perceptor cannot help but to arch back, gasping as the plug sank back in again.

"_-Your body shouts for more!" _Starscream laughs at the coup.

His denta threaten to snag and scratch the metallic flesh of his lower lip. Perceptor grimaced, trapped between the attacker molesting his throat with sharp fangs, and the invader snapping electricity and friction between his legs. He shouts brokenly, and tries again – failing _again_ – to lever his vulnerable neck away from Starscream's bite.

"Give up." Starscream beckoned, pinning his mate, whispering and beseeching the mech to tumble deeper into submission. "Surrender with grace. There is no shame in it."

"Nnn-" Perceptor whined. Shaking his head fiercely, hating the way that they fit. Despising how well his body rocked against the Seeker's rolling thrust. _"N-No…"_

"If you will not bend," Starscream warns, "Then I will _break_ the stubborn resolve that you hide behind."

Perceptor winces, and then shouts, when the interface cable snaps free. Before he can move, however, the microscope finds he is swiftly twisted around to face his mate. Sprawling recklessly into the Seeker's lap, the larger mech reclining back into the massive seat pushed away from the head of the table.

This time he screams when the cable reconnects, interface spike spearing the port and hub housed between his legs. Taloned hands keep his hips steady, not allowing him to break the connection.

"Don't waste your energy." Starscream commands. Seizing the mech's hands as they fumble and push against his chassis, capturing the smaller appendages within his.

Perceptor's lower limbs tremble unsteadily, holding the bulk of his weight above the remaining length of Starscream's plug; refusing to allow the connection a deeper reach within.

"Try to pretend to derive some pleasure from this." Starscream chides, "If it's not too much effort." He finishes sarcastically.

"F-frag off." The microscope hisses.

"I'll have to ignore your suggestion." Starscream says in mild rebuke. "Instead, I think we should become a little more acquainted."

"What do you-" Before his optics, Perceptor observes in momentary muted horror as the Seeker's chest plates begin to separate, revealing a burning red sun from within the core of the mech's chassis, the vibrant red spark humming with energy, churning and rolling with ruby and saffron fire.

"No!" Perceptor pleads. "Not that. You can't!"

"Oh, but I will." Starscream counters. "Open your chassis, Perceptor."

The microscope shakes his head in refusal. "No…" Perceptor tugs uselessly at his captured hands. "Such a union is to be shared through trust and devotion. Not through force!"

"I will not use force. But only… If. You. Open. Your. Chassis." Starscream repeats his command.

"I can't…"

"It is not a matter of _can't_." Starscream reveals the truth behind the microscope's hesitation. "But the fact is that you _won't_."

"_Please."_

"_Perceptor."_

"…I'm _afraid_." Perceptor admits with a hitch of breath; trembling within the mech's grasp, chin lowered and quivering.

At the microscope's sincere utterance, the Seeker deigns to pause. Red optics staring down at his mate, alight by the glow of his bared Spark. Finally he speaks, "If you are afraid, then follow my lead."

Guiding the smaller mech with their entwined hands, Starscream coaxes the microscope to arch forward until chassis' brush. The azure light in Perceptor's optics flutter, sealed plates warmed by the concentration of heat pouring from the Seeker's Spark. A surprised 'Oh' spreads his lips, mirrored by the small gasp as he is rocked against the interface connection that still binds the two mechs.

"That's it." Starscream entices. Leading with a coaxing tone and persuading hands, "Just follow my every move."

His chassis bumped with the Seeker's, Perceptor whimpering and biting his lip at the pulse of heat that licked across his paintwork and frame. "We shouldn't do this…" He persists apprehensively.

"Perhaps…But we will, nevertheless." Starscream intercepts his partner's worrying, "Just focus on the stimulation. Offline your optics, if it causes you so much distress."

Perceptor complied, optics shutting down, turning dark. His breath fluttered against Starscream's grinning visage, the Seeker leaning closer, savoring the halting, hitched breaths of his partner. A visible shudder rocked the microscope when a heady pulse of of energy raced between the connection.

The deep, sibilant growl trickled through clenched fanged denta. One hand releasing the microscope's, running down and latching upon Perceptor's slimmer hip-

Digging in sharp talons, _just _there, the tips beading along hypersensitive cables underlying the plating-

Perceptor whines sharply, head and chin falling back to reveal the achingly fragile lines and tendons of his throat.

Starscream snarls, the sharp gusty pitch forewarning the pinching bite. Fangs snag the tender plating, holding a mouthful of metal flesh and sinew, energon rapidly pulsing within the captured cables.

"NNnn-" He can't help but twitch beneath the sharp bite, shuddering as the dangerous fangs close tightly upon his throat. Energon pulsing, atremble beneath the sharp pressure that can easily rend his dermal layers wide open.

The curled hand upon the mech's waist roughly grinds him forward, the microscope's chassis is nearly burning as the Seeker's spark snaps and licks at his plating. The fervent red glow probing for the illusive bright azure spark nestled behind the safety of the smaller mech's chest plates.

Starscream slams the connection deeper, not an inch or trace of the interface plug discernable between the two mechs' entwined forms.

A static, garble-filled shriek of surprise, the feedback from the hard push and sharp pulse of electricity. The microscope bolts upward, frame quaking, seized in a near epileptic fit or seizure. Hands clenching and digging into the Seeker's bicep cables as he tries to stabilize his body against the harsh assault.

Starscream strips his teeth away from the tender morsel of dermal plating and cables, lest he tear the microscope's throat open due to every sharp buck and thrust. He leans further against the back of the massive chair, reclining, arms encircling the smaller mech's body until his hands slide up the back of Perceptor's shoulder blades struts, entrapping the slender mech within an unmovable cage of metal flesh, struts, tendons, and wire.

Between the two, a thin, almost indiscernible sliver of azure light teases a bright seam linking the microscope's chest plates.

A mere inch, and then two, the chassis slowly splitting against the microscope's will.

Starscream grins wolfishly, rocking their forms together once more; the primeval dance of two bodies tangoing together in pleasure and harmony. In response the rolling thrust, the split in Perceptor's chassis teases open, slightly wider.

"No," Perceptor gasped, trying and failing to lean away, optics flaring sapphire, nova bright, "No more, I-"

"It's too late to retreat now." Starscream warns. Optics feverishly alight, watching the tempting glances of the mech's spark, zealously memorizing the whisper and patterns of swirling galaxies and stars that implode together to create the blazing flame.

"St-Starscream! Stop…" Perceptor pants. Vents' heavily struggling to relieve the hot ache as his chassis splits wider. The twin spot of heat nestled between his legs helped very little by the slow, continued thrusts of the Seeker's plug, snaps of static and white-gold electricity building between his port and around the sleek intruder. "No more. Primus, I'm going to-"

"_Yessss…" _The Seeker in mercilessly. Tugging him tighter, even closer.

The microscope's chassis split far enough to allow their sparks to finally meet.

Starscream's great, surging roar overlaps the microscope's tinny shriek of surprise when their sparks meld. Contact creating a hissing billow of steam and embers of golden fire. His smaller mate's head rolls back, curving into the final thrust. Their interface connection and spark-to-spark contact creating a continuous looping feed.

Perceptor watched in disarray as red warnings flashed in front of his optics, warning of systems overload. Far more menacing than the system alert, the fiery ruby of Starscream's spark seemed to consume him alive. Encircling the nova-azure gem of the microscope's. Wrapping tentacled red arms around the trembling sun, bringing them together as one.

The connection went on for what seemed like joors, but was really a mere breem or two.

Perceptor had offlined after only a few kliks.

Starscream's folded arms prevented the mech from tumbling gracelessly onto the floor, hazy sapphire optics shutting down as Perceptor slipped willingly into recharge.

The Seeker hissed as, reluctantly, his spark separated from the mech's with a final lick and caress. Finding it necessary to assist the microscope's chest plates to seal and lock shut after his own chassis swiftly concealed his ruby spark.

A lick of the glossa along gleaming fangs as he shifted, severing his plug from his mate's port, disconnecting with a tiny twinge of pain and aching pleasure as static popped one final time as he slipped free.

Taking a klik to tidy up after such…gratifying activities, Starscream relaxed within his throne seat. Running talons along the smaller helm resting against the broad expanse of his waist, the microscope's arms folded, legs crossed as he curled onto the Seeker's lap in deep recharge.

"What a fine treasure you will make, my dear pet." Starscream hummed in wicked approval.

THE END


End file.
